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Taken by the Mafia King When You Know, You Know
SeraTears sprang to my eyes at the sight of my best friend.“Emma!” I shrieked, forgetting about my party getup, and flung my arms around her neck. “Emma, you’re here. Oh my! I can’t believe you’re here.” I pulled away. “You look amazing!”Emma Burns, my best friend for years and roommate during college and our first year teaching together, stood before me looking out of place but happy to see me. She was tall and willowy, with cornsilk hair in bouncy ringlets just above her shoulders, green eyes also shiny with tears, and lips curved in a huge smile. She wore a pretty light blue dress with fluffy white trim on the neckline and sleeves.“No, you look amazing! You look like a rich trophy wife. I can’t believe you’re here in front of me.”I squealed and crushed her in another hug. I thought I’d let go of my past life after saying goodbye to Jim, but as it turned out, as of this moment, I had only let go of him and my position at Jefferson. I hadn’t said goodbye to Emma. And now, I refu
Taken by the Mafia King Most Beautiful in the Room
KillianSera’s near-comical reaction to her best friend’s appearance was well worth her disappointment in thinking I was denying her that happiness. I thought I’d seen her happy before, but this was so much more compared to that. She was on cloud nine.Selfishly, I wanted to steal her away from Emma after a good hour of them chatting it up over Rosemary’s desserts. It hadn’t been difficult to get Emma here, but she’d had a lot of questions I refused to answer. I needed to make sure she was safe once this was all over. I’d taken out a lot of our enemies, but Sera was still a wanted woman.I wanted to dance with her in that form-fitting dress and stare at her ample bosom.I set my glass of wine down. Why did it feel like I’d drunk twice past my limit?“Is someone jealous?”I started at Caterina’s voice but didn’t let it show. Like all of the other women, she was a vision. We hadn’t spoken yet today, and part of me was hoping I wouldn’t have to. “Ridiculous.”“Look,” she said without pre
Taken by the Mafia King Ache
SeraI want to spend every Christmas with you, Killian, I wanted to blurt before he reminded me that this night wasn’t just about us.Knowing it was a blaring announcement, we went around to all of our guests holding hands. Every single person except Olivia, Penny, Tommaso, and Mom were floored with shock at the sight. The Hand of Death, murderer of dozens, was dating Andre Bianchi’s only daughter? What in the world was happening?We went around to every person and family, Killian introducing me to his associates and subordinates who weren’t always included in most of his plans but were valuable in certain instances. Celeste Harper was a devious little angel, and I promised to invite her next year with her own table of desserts.My mom was lovingly holding a fast-asleep baby Michael in his Santa onesie. Dustin and Callie were finally chatting, even if it was visibly awkward. Joyce was dancing with Reggie (there was nothing between them, as far as I knew), and best of all, Penny was sl
Taken by the Mafia King Breakfast In Bed
SeraMy legs still faintly ached when I came to. I felt makeup smeared across my face, and I realized I was lucky I didn’t blind myself by getting mascara in my eyes.“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Killian said, coming in from the hallway. As usual, he had woken up long before me. But this time, he was carrying a breakfast tray; the tantalizing scent of French toast made my mouth water.A flash of panic shocked the dregs of sleep away. “What time is it?”“Relax, amore,” he mused, setting the tray on the table in case I wasn’t ready to accept it. “It’s only ten.”“Oh, okay, good. You brought me breakfast in bed. French toast is my favorite, you know.”“Really? What a coincidence.” Killian set the tray over my lap, and my stomach growled at the gorgeous sight. Pepper always managed to outdo himself.I shot Killian a wry look. “You asked my mom, didn’t you?”He climbed back in bed with me, dressed nicely but still looking tousled. Propping our pile of pillows up so we could lean back, he ad
Taken by the Mafia King Pain Into Power
Killian“I trust you, Killian Ricci, with my life.”Sera’s words lingered in my mind like syrup, sticky and sweet. Trust was a huge factor amongst the syndicate, but when it came to people outside of my own family, well, trust had no place in the mafia.Which was why a mother and daughter were plotting to kill the man who betrayed them.At least some Bianchis were redeemable.But could I trust Sera? Was I capable of trusting someone in any capacity?I entrusted a lot of things to Tommaso; I trusted him to have my back and carry out my word. I trusted him through thick and thin.Sera? I trusted her to a fault.Maybe it was time I admitted it.I ran my fingers through her hair, feeling the warmth of her skin, the warmth of her breath as it filled the empty, dark space of my soul. I lost myself in the blue depths of her eyes, forgot my name at the sight of her slightly parted lips, drowned in her lavender scent.“I trust you, Serafina Bianchi,” I murmured like a promise. Tears sprang to
Taken by the Mafia King Best Christmas Eve Ever
SeraI watched the SUVs leave into the snowy landscape. Big, fat flakes drifted by, and with all the Christmas lights on, the night still felt calm and magical. I was determined to keep it that way, if not for my sake, then the rest of the household’s.It was planned a few days ago that Olivia, Penny, Joyce, Callie, Pepper, and Rosemary would help me make this the Christmas to remember for Dustin. We’d make it special for Michael, too, though he wouldn’t remember a moment. His mom would take plenty of pictures, though. We planned to make more cookies, drink hot chocolate, watch Christmas movies, and do whatever Dustin wanted to do since it was his first real Christmas Eve.“Every year, Mom just spends a little more on dinner than usual and gets me a gift that’s less of a want and more of a need,” Dustin had told me in the kitchen earlier that day while we ate lunch. He shrugged when the staff and I reacted with shock and sympathy. “It’s all I really had, but I enjoyed it. She still ma
Taken by the Mafia King Guns Blazing
KillianLights, music, and rowdy voices from Andre’s cabin echoed through the dark forest all the way to where we were parked half a mile down the road. “The paranoid bastard probably has guards everywhere,” Caterina said from the passenger seat. “We’ll need to sneak in there on foot. To reiterate, you all want to bust through the door, bullets flying?”All five of the men in our vehicle concurred, “Yes.”Caterina shook her head slowly, then continued, “Fine. We’ll go through the front door. Generally, there are at least ten of his biggest, most bloodthirsty guys on the perimeter as guards. Surrounding him personally are only five; they’re more brains than brawn but no less dirty. Everyone else is partygoers. Wives and sidepieces aren’t allowed, but they might have other paid girls.” “Don’t touch any of them. If they need saving, we save them. Is that understood?” I asked my men.Everyone nodded, and I knew I could trust them.“Good.” Caterina’s eyes, like the dark blue depths of th
Taken by the Mafia King Home For Christmas
SeraBy nine, the staff had been relieved of their duties and gone off to bed.Dustin scrubbed at his eyes, trying to stay awake, but I steered him toward his room. “Go to bed, dude. The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner it’ll be Christmas.”“But Christmas is in three hours—”“Nope. It’s not Christmas until you’re opening presents.”“Well, when is that?”“We’ll just have to find out. Stop stalling, you goof.”“Okay, okay, I’m going! Are you going to make sure I brush my teeth?!”“What are you, eight? No!”“Good, because I’m out of toothpaste.”“How the hell… Never mind. You can come use mine.”Laughing about our banter, we brushed our teeth in Killian’s bathroom and then went to Dustin’s room to sit on his bed and gossip like siblings.I missed it. I didn’t realize it, but I missed having a family—a real family. Dad stopped being my dad when I stepped away from the syndicate to go to college. And Leo… We hadn’t had a close bond in the few years before he died. Somehow, this feeling o
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Taken by the Mafia King Epilogue
PaigeI stood in the vestibule outside of the chapel, clutching my flowers, my heart hammering in my chest. Organ music belted through the doors, and I was just waiting for my cue.We all were. My two bridesmaids, in simple maroon dresses, stood ahead of me. Like she could feel my eyes, Lauren turned back and winked. I smiled. The dress looked spectacular on her, and I’d promised up and down that Tom would invite enough handsome men for her to go home with a date. This, of course, had been complicated by Tom choosing Killian and Stan as his two groomsmen. While I liked the older man, and he kept Lauren laughing, I didn’t exactly see the two of them as a couple.Mom stepped up next to me with a smile. Her mother-of-the-bride dress, a deep burgundy gown with gold accents, caught the light and sent it dancing. “Are you excited?”I inhaled sharply. “I kind of can’t stop thinking about the seating chart for the reception. Who have I become?”She laughed. “Your father.”Tears beaded in my e
Taken by the Mafia King Old Time's Sake
KillianI sat behind my desk and looked out over my men. Tommaso took his usual seat. Adrian hovered in the corner like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself yet, just like he had at the beginning. Patrick was still laughing about spilling his wine. Just like old times. I stood and started pouring everyone drinks.“So,” I said, “do you have an update on the warehouses, Adrian?”He started toward my desk, then paused. An odd moment passed. It wasn’t really my desk anymore. I’d left the hunk of wood behind because I had no need for it on the island, and he’d loaded it down with computers in my absence. Despite that, I’d never seen anyone sit behind it but my father besides me.I offered Adrian a drink. “Sit.”He nodded. “Didn’t want to step on your toes. The situation is pretty simple, all told, but I can tell there’s a certain amount of grace I’m supposed to be handling this foreman with, and I don’t—”Tommaso joined me at the bar to pour. “Do you remember that foreman in the so
Taken by the Mafia King Big News
PaigeI tucked my arm through Tom’s and straightened my long, floral romper. He kissed me on the cheek, then knocked on the door. Joyce swung it open.“Hello!” She welcomed us both in with hugs. “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci are in the drawing room. Please, come in.”We let ourselves be bustled through the door, the wine we’d brought carried off to the kitchen, and our coats taken to some closet somewhere in the mansion. Adrian used it as a base of operations when Killian and Sera weren’t home, so I’d been here a few times since the wedding, but I’d never felt comfortable here. Finally, we were led to the closed doors of the drawing room, and Tom opened them with a smile.Inside, we found not only “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci,” but also Olivia and Patrick, Adrian and Penny—who still wouldn’t even talk about their dance at the wedding—and Sera’s mother and brother, as well as Lauren. Sera leapt up to greet us, and Killian followed a few paces behind. I threw myself into the hug just as much as Sera did—I
Taken by the Mafia King Checking Up
SeraI folded a T-shirt and put it into Killian’s suitcase. “Are you sure we need to leave so soon?”He chuckled and took the T-shirt back out, then replaced it with a suit shirt. “Very, unfortunately. Adrian is in the middle of a difficult situation with one of the warehouses, and he needs a steady hand to guide him through.”My stomach churned at the thought of leaving the villa. We’d only been here for a couple of months, and we’d promised everyone we’d return, but dammit, I wasn’t ready yet. Lazing around the villa and having sex whenever the mood took us was way too fun to stop after only a few months.“But we’ll be back soon, right?” I asked like I didn’t already know.“Cara mia.” Killian took my hands. “What is happening in that head of yours?”I sighed. “I don’t know. The thought of leaving just make me kind of sick. We just got away from all that. I don’t want to be scared again.”He studied me for a long moment. “You do look a little pale. How sick is this making you exactly
Taken by the Mafia King Humdrum Excitement
PaigeI squeezed Tom’s hand in the car on the way to the airport.“Sad to be leaving?” he asked.I smiled. “Always. It’s so magical here.”He laughed. “Not just saying that because we’ve spent most of the vacation in bed?”I ran my free hand up his leg. “No, we have weekends for that at home.”“Fair enough.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I do like going on these little vacations, though. It’s a nice escape for a few days.”I nodded. I really was going to miss Paris, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stay much longer anyway. Lauren had been texting me updates about the shelter, especially the new one as women settled in. I kept thinking about how much I was missing, how much they needed me there. And I knew Tom was feeling the same. Apparently, Lyle had his sights set on someone new, and Tom was itching to pull the trigger. Anybody else would probably think we were freaks, desperate to leave a luxury vacation to get back to our grueling jobs. But those people didn’t realize just how much
Taken by the Mafia King Perfect Fit
TommasoWhen I told Paige I’d set everything up for another two days in Paris, she’d immediately insisted we spend a day shopping. I put up a cursory front of complaints, but in truth, I was perfectly happy following her from store to store and carrying her bags. Even better, she loved it when I made jokes about some of the worst, frilliest, most French things we came across. She laughed and joined in. For years, I’d heard men complaining about shopping with their girlfriends—fiancées—saying it was the most boring thing in the world, but even if we weren’t laughing up a storm as we paid our way through the most expensive boutiques in Paris, I still would’ve been having a ball. The sun was shining, she kept looking at the ring I’d put on her finger with a soft wonderment I’d never seen in her eyes anymore, and my face hurt from smiling. Paige and I could’ve made a hell of an afternoon out of reading the phone book.“Stop!” she said.I froze, my free hand twitching toward the gun I’d hi
Taken by the Mafia King Beginning of Forever
PaigeI didn’t know how long Tom and I lay there, listening to the fireworks and seeing the very top of their arcs through the sliver of windows accessible from the floor. I pillowed my head on his chest and enjoyed the steady beat of his heart. Engaged. The last time I was here, I’d been on the cusp of recovery, just starting to make strides toward the person I was today. Now, I wasn’t done—I didn’t know if there was a done for traumatized people or people in general—but I was so much better, stronger, happier than I had been.The last time Tom and I were in Paris, I’d thrown myself at him and chickened out. As much as I could stay at a private view of the Eiffel Tower, I wanted to show him just how much had changed. Just how much I meant the “yes” that had fallen so easily from my lips. I rolled on top of him.“What do you say we take this back to that hotel room you picked out?”Tom grinned and pulled me down for a kiss. I pressed myself against him, feeling every line of his body.
Taken by the Mafia King The Only Ones
PaigeI sat across from Tom in an empty, stunning restaurant in the middle of the Eiffel Tower with my head spinning like the three sips of wine I’d had with the appetizer were enough to make me drunk. He’d really rented out the Eiffel Tower. And not one floor, the whole thing. We’d ridden an empty elevator, the two-Michelin-star chef kept coming out to tell us why he’d selected particular dishes based on the information Tom had given him about our preferences, and I couldn’t hear anything but the soft classical music over the speakers. It felt like a dream.Tom took my hand. “So?”“So what?” I asked.“Was the surprise worth it?” He grinned.I looked over his suit, a forest green that brought out his eyes, worn without a tie. His dark curls tumbled into his face. I’d never seen him look so perfectly put together and so casual. He looked…well, he looked exactly like the man I’d fallen in love with. Nothing like the one who’d scared me so badly all those months ago in Cairo.“I get the
Taken by the Mafia King Peace Time
TommasoDespite how much I wanted Paige to keep that little black dress on, we had a few hours before the Tower officially emptied out for our use. I talked her into putting on something a little more walkable and keeping the lingerie on. As if to punish me for my restraint, she picked a pair of tiny, wide-legged shorts that showed the tops of the garters attached to her stockings every time she moved and a fitted blouse. I changed and somehow convinced myself to leave the hotel room instead of stripping everything off her and spending the hours in bed.She took my hand as we stepped into the lobby. “I should’ve known. When you plan a surprise, it’s never just one thing. Where are we off to first?”“So nosy.” I smiled.“You’re right, I’ll stop asking.” She slid the room key out of her pocket and fiddled with it for a second, then dropped it. With a small smile, she bent at the waist to pick it up, exposing those garter straps again.I grabbed her waist and hurried her the final few st
